Historical ballads as a sub-group of Tamil story-poems are significant in Tamil folklore. Ramapayyan Ammaanai and Desingurajan Kathai are summarised in this lesson. Deviation from real history is also brought out. Life style and human behaviour of yore, literary excellence and tradition can be understood through these poems.

Devoting one unit to describe historical ballads in general, this lesson has three units each to deal with two illustrative poems, Ramapayyan Ammaanai and Desingurajan Kathai. In the three units dealing with the first poem you learn the story vis-a-vis the relevant historical facts, a comparison between Ramapayyan and Vanniyadevan and proverbs and analogy used in this work. The other three units on Desingurajan Kathai present the story as against the relevant history, a comparison between the hero and his friend Mohabatkhan or Mavuthukaran and other such discussions.

Fourteen ballads are listed as historical ballads making historical persons as their heroes. The earliest of these ballads is Ramapayyan Ammaanai and the best story is Desingurajan Kathai.

Historical narration of Desingurajan is presented in the second unit which narrates in detail his life story. He is compared to his intimate friend Mavuthukaran, a muslim hero of that period.

The last unit provides a lot of information of the period when 72 Palayapattukal existed. Religious tolerance is explicit in this ballad.

On learning this lesson. you will understand the political contexts of Tamil nadu in those years, the literary techniques followed in that period. The human behaviour and the cultural life of the period are also reflected in these ballads.